Calming Spirit
by Droory
Summary: The night before tackling the Endless Wall Sveta offers Matthew her support and comfort.


Happy Birthday to Felix aka Genderfluid and Green!  
Hope everyone enjoys this!

* * *

" _Karis, have you seen Matthew?"_

The Jupiter Adept paused, placing her glass back on the table as she thought. It had been a while since they had seen Matthew after arriving in Tonfon to rest before trying to scale Apollo Sanctum.

" _Hmm, he's probably resting, Sveta."_ Karis smiled to the beastwoman, giving a nod toward the stairs leading to the bedrooms of the inn, _"He's been working himself ragged since the Eclipse started, and tomorrow will be a long day."_

Sveta's ears drooped a little but she nodded in agreement with Karis. It was true that she hadn't seen Matthew get very much sleep or rest, and he was near constantly trying to plan their next route or train or… anything other than sleep really.

She couldn't help but worry. He had been there a lot for her, a constant source of comfort and support since she lost her home and her brother to the Eclipse. Maybe he felt responsible? Maybe he blamed himself for all the suffering the Grave Eclipse had caused.

Sveta took a moment to look around the Tonfon inn, at the allies and friends she had made since joining Matthew's quest. Karis, Amiti, Rief, Himi, and Kraden were all having a friendly discussion over a small meal on one end of the table, while on the other Tyrell, Eoleo and his crew were having a much louder and larger celebration.

The sight of it all brought a small smile to the girl's mouth. Matthew deserved to share in this atmosphere, and if he needed rest, then she could at least bring a small amount of it to him.

She quickly ascended the stairs to Matthew's room, knocking once, twice, and then a third time, softly calling out the boy's name in the hopes of being allowed in. The seconds ticked by, the muffled sounds of her friend's downstairs the only noise breaking the silence.

Slowly and quietly, in the event that Matthew was sleeping, Sveta pushed open the door to Matthew's room. The room was almost pitch-black, no candles were lit and the drapes were closed. Sveta blinked twice to readjust, scanning the room quickly, noting the absence of one blond Venus Adept in a bed or on any of the other available furniture.

" _Matthew?"_

A small sound caught her ears, starting them twitching and searching for the source. Sounded like a sniff, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind her, she found the source: Matthew curled up behind the door.

" _Matthew?"_ She gasped out, rushing to his side, but knowing better than to touch him just in case, _"Are you okay? What happened, what's wrong?"_

She shook her head, taking a calmer position at his side. _Too many questions, too much too fast, don't overwhelm him._ She took a deep breath and tried to meet his gaze but his face was buried in his hands.

" _Matthew,"_ she kept her voice low and soft, _"it's Sveta, I'm here. If you can, could you sign what's wrong?"_

Sveta knew Matthew could suffer from selective mutism, and she had spent a lot of time with him, and the others to try and learn sign language as quickly as she could so she could help when it struck.

The boy slowly lifted his face from his hands, his blue eyes awash with tears, and shakily began to move his hands. Sveta watched intently, she was still learning and hadn't still struggled to pick up different words. This was helped none by how much Matthew's hands shook, but she tried to catch as much as she could.

 _Can't… my fault… Eclipse… Dad… shame…_

She wasn't even sure if some of these signs were right. Very slowly and softly she took his hands in hers and gave them a light squeeze.

" _I'm sorry, Matthew, I can't understand. I know it can be invasive, and you are free to decline, but I can use my Spirit Sense so you can tell me everything without having to worry about talking or signing."_

The boy continued to shake, sniffling and hiccupping, in the corner for a while before nodding. Sveta slowly repositioned herself in front of him, being sure to hold his hands no matter what.

" _I won't read anything you don't share willingly, I promise."_

Matthew nodded shakily again, sniffling and doing his best to not look away from Sveta. Taking slow deep breaths, Sveta activated her Psynergy, the gentle soft pulse of silvery light ringing through and illuminating the room.

It took a few moments for the connection to be established, but soon the two were no longer in the room, instead sitting in a swirling mass of colours, thoughts, memories, and scenarios. There was so much activity, so much noise, so much emotion surrounding them both like a storm.

" _I don't know what to do, it's all my fault, I shouldn't have done this, my dad would have stopped this, I'm not like him, I'm not a leader, I'm going to get all my friend's killed, everything is my fault, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."_

The voice boomed all around them, thunder echoing out in the maelstrom of thought, but no words came from Matthew's mouth. Sveta shut her eyes tight, trying to focus and not be overwhelmed by everything in Matthew's mind all at once.

Taking a few deep breaths to try and get a hold of her position she opened her eyes again, once more assaulted by the storm in Matthew's mind. _"Matthew, do you think you could focus on the Grave Eclipse?"_

As she spoke the mindscape around them shifted, colours of blues, purples, and blacks swirled around them. Images flashed in through the darkness, Belinsk in flames, Volechek collapsing on the Luna Tower, Briggs' death, their friends collapsed and overwhelmed by monsters, villages overrun and destroyed, the Warriors of Vale struggling and falling against the darkness… Sveta's own body battered and broken in the darkness.

" _All my fault all my fault I'm sorry I shouldn't have let this happen it's all my fault I can't protect you I'm sorry."_

Sveta breathed deep, gently pressing her forehead to Matthew's, doing her best to focus on positive thoughts of her own and to draw Matthew's to the surface. The people of Belinsk gathering around fires and warriors defending one another against the dark, successful fights against the beasts of the Grave Eclipse, Matthew saving and healing his friends.

" _It's not your fault, Matthew. You didn't cause this. You've done all you can to protect and save all those affected by the Eclipse."_ Sveta's voice was soft and gentle, trying to bring lighter colours and the happier images to Matthew's mind, _"You even saved Ryo Kou and Hou Ju and returned them to their family, despite what Ryo Kou did. Your father would have done the same."_

Matthew sniffled in front of her, shaking his head, but his thoughts on the Eclipse had quieted. Sveta knew a few sentences wouldn't dismiss all his worries or fears right now, but she knew better than to overwhelm him. His thought had calmed here and she could leave it at that for now until he was stronger.

She continued to help him quiet the different realms of his fears in similar ways, assuring him he was a capable leader and he deserved the trust his friends had in him, telling him that his father would be immensely proud of how strong he's become and the actions he's taken despite all the difficulties, and most importantly: that he was anything but weak.

" _You're so strong, Matthew."_ Sveta softly whispered to him, his mind quiet and calm now, generating images of him defeating mighty monsters, _"You're so brave and strong, I'm very proud of you."_

She leaned closer and softly squeezes his hands in hers, _"We all have moments where we feel weak and afraid. You have been there for me through the worst of mine, and I swear that I will be there for the worst of yours."_

A gentle kiss was pressed to Matthew's forehead, _"When you are afraid I will be brave for you. When you feel weak I will be strong for you. Whenever you feel helpless I will be there to help, just like you have done for so many others so many times these past few months."_

The boy was no longer shaking, his mind calm and clear, light images and colours coming slowly and peacefully before fading out. His breathing was level and his tears had dried and he managed to offer the beastgirl a small smile.

Slowly, he took his hands from hers, signing a _"Thank you"_ before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a deep hug.

Sveta ended the Spirit Sense connection as she wrapped her own arms around him, the last image she saw in Matthew's mind being of her smiling to him upon their first meeting.

" _You're never alone, Matthew. We're stronger as a team, and nothing can stop us."_

Sveta felt his arms squeeze her closer in response and the two remained like that for a few minutes more. She was unsure just how long they had spent together in his mind, be it minutes or hours, but thankfully she could still hear the sounds of their friends in the inn's common room.

They spent a while longer like that before the din from downstairs was broken. _"Thank you."_ Matthew's voice was rare to hear, he was generally quiet despite his selective mutism, and he generally saved his words for important moments.

At that moment his voice was strained and broken from crying and recently coming out of his mute episode, but Sveta still loved to hear it all the same. She sat back out of the hug, wiping the tear stains from Matthew's cheeks.

" _After all you've done for me, it's the least I could do, Matthew."_ She smiled widely to him, flashing a fang or two briefly.

Matthew's smile grew a little as he looked into the girls bright green eyes. Quick as a flash he had pecked her on the lips and withdrew; his cheeks aflame as he met her gaze afterward.

Sveta blinked a few times in surprise, her smile only growing as she saw how adorable and happy the boy looked. She quickly pulled him closer for another tight hug, and the two remained like that for a long while before going to re-join their friends downstairs.

* * *

 **BONUS:**

Sveta roared and screamed tearing apart another few monsters with her claws and planting others into the nearby cliff faces and earth, singlehandedly destroying a large number before the others had even caught up to her.

Finally catching up after fighting off a group of shadows further down the Apollo Ascent, Matthew stumbled upon the beastgirl standing triumphant over the remains of shadow beasts and guardians of the sanctum, her travelling clothes torn and showing off her muscled form.

Matthew could only gawp in utter amazement at the sight before him, equal parts terrified, amazed, and aroused.

If Sveta decided to sense his spirit right now she would be met with a host of rather indecent images and one dominating thought: _"I love her."_

* * *

Happy Birthday to Felix again! Hope you all enjoyed!  
Fun fact: originally instead of "I love her" Matthew said "I would let her murder me"

Thanks for reading!  
Your friend and writer,  
Droory


End file.
